Innovation of the Islamic Republic in Corruption; The 'Vital Vein' of Mashhad Transferred to the Private Sector

The website 'Energy Press' reported that two government entities, 'Martyrs Foundation' and 'Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command', colluded to transfer part of the 'Chahol Baze' river, which is the 'vital vein' of Mashhad, to the private sector. The author described the floodplain of Chahol Baze as 'pristine and untouched' and added: 'Martyrs Foundation, Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command, and the Ministry of Energy have established a crooked foundation whereby from now on anyone can claim ownership of rivers and other public properties in the country.' The report discusses the process of privatizing this river and its history, stating that after the execution and confiscation of the personal assets of Abdoljavad Mohammadian Khorasani, a close associate of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in the early days of the Islamic Republic, some 'opportunists' and three 'revolutionary' entities claimed his assets, including lands that are now located in the floodplain of the 'Chahol Baze' river. According to Energy Press, a company named 'Falat Toos' is colluding with 'Martyrs Foundation' and 'Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command' so that if they succeed in acquiring 115 hectares of the riverbed land, they will register 30% of the river land in the name of the Executive Headquarters and 70% in the name of the Martyrs Foundation, then each will transfer their shares in such a way that 52.5% of the river will be registered under the name of Falat Toos. The website further noted that the government of Ebrahim Raisi is also implicated in this corruption, stating that 'the Ministry of Energy of the thirteenth government, led by Ali Akbar Mehrabian, who himself was a former manager of the Executive Headquarters, as the main custodian of the country's water resources, not only did not take any action to maintain public ownership of the river, but also exacerbated this grand theft with their silence and indifference to ensure the transfers were completed.' The report indicates that although the riverbed is legally owned by the government, entities like the Executive Headquarters and Martyrs Foundation have encroached upon it by claiming ownership of the lands surrounding the river and transferred it to a private company, while the Ministry of Energy, despite having previously held the ownership documents of this river, did not resist the claims of other entities and easily overlooked the rights of the people. According to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, rivers are among the public common properties of the people and cannot be privately owned. The determination of the riverbed limits is also the responsibility of the Ministry of Energy, and the court is obliged to return any confiscated property that interferes with public common properties to the responsible authority as soon as it is observed. It is said that the heirs of Abdoljavad Mohammadian Khorasani have also officially written to the highest authorities of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, stating that the late Mohammadian was never the owner of the river and had no claims over these lands.